My Dad's Bestfriend

Chapter 164 This Means Nothing

Evelyn

After that mind-blowing orgasm and Jacob's final touch, another night was slipping by in terrifying silence. I tossed and turned in bed, restless, unable to get a wink of sleep. My mind raced with thoughts, loud and unkind, questioning my dignity and the self-preservation I had until I let Jacob finger-fuck and lick me to a shattering climax that I could still feel between my thighs. The sensitivity was still lingering there. I was so fucking stupid to allow him to do that because now, I stimply couldn't get him out of my head.

If there was anything I should have felt for him, it should have been hatred. But no, I felt everything else the fire, the warmth, the urge, the craving, the hunger-every fucking thing except the one emotion I believed I should have felt for him: hatred.

God, Maybe, I could never ever hate him and this realization was sickening.

I emitted a soft groan, trying to banish his image from my mind. He had looked so incredibly hot with my essence on his lips, hovering over me, his face so tantalizingly close to mine. He looked breathtaking.

I still loved him...

Why the fuck did I still love him?!!!

"God, Evelyn! Get him out of your head," I muttered, sitting up and finally getting out of bed. I knew sleep was nowhere near me, so a stroll in the garden it was. Wine? I doubted there was any left. I had seen Clara and Dad take nearly three bottles up to their room. One would have done the job, but they didn't want me anywhere near any kind of drink-sly hedgehogs that they were!

I wrapped the shrug around my body, bracing for the possibility of a chilly night. You can never trust the weather.

Slowly, I walked downstairs, opened the glass door, and stepped into the garden. But then....My body froze the moment my bare feet touched the grass.

There stood Jacob Adriano, his bare, strong back facing me, hands tucked into his trouser pockets as he gazed at the sky, at the moon. A sight I could only describe as ethereal.

Unconsciously, I took a few steps forward, bringing his side profile into view. It didn't take me a second to realize he was deep in thought, distant. It was uncharacteristic of him to look so far away, deep in thoughts as if buried in some secluded corner of his mind that he wouldn't let anyone discover. He'd always been composed, calm, and controlled.

Before I knew it, I found myself asking, "What are you doing here?"

His eyes shifted to me slowly, unsurprised. "I couldn't sleep." His answer was as simple as his gaze. As much as I knew him, I could tell he was trying not to plan anything, unlike other times-there was nothing going on in his mind. But he looked....sad.

or a growing distance that might never be bridged again. When he was at his

with soft eyes. My hands fought a battle, longing to cup his

over my chest, forcing my eyes to show only curiosity when all they held

trying to mask his vulnerability with a facade of indifference. He turned to walk away, but

I insisted. "What

He remained silent for a few seconds, glancing from my hand on his wrist to my face. A soft, melancholic smile curled his lips. "You still care?" I hurriedly

curious," I stammered. "I'd even ask my enemy why he looks sad if he

usual playfulness, sounding weighed down by an untangled knot in his chest. Perhaps he couldn't untangle it, or

am I?

wind whipped around us. The weather was beautiful tonight-a sky full of stars, the moon shining brightly-yet it all felt dull

each other in

my eyes widening slightly in realization. Jacob hadn't had the best

remembered the night he mentioned how his father died, and how his mother met an untimely death as well. I knew about his childhood, the pain he endured, the things he and Bianca tolerated, and how it left

knew it, I was moving

vanished; I was still mad at him, of course, but at this moment, nothing mattered more than to wipe away that expression from his face. I wanted to do something, anything, to

softly, unable to tear my gaze away from

moved to

intense gaze fixated on me. "The regrets.." he whispered, answering my question. "Regret that if only I had been brave enough then, I could have perhaps saved my mother from

I am not sorry for his death, Evelyn-I just wish he had

Somewhere safe. Life

so consumed by his addiction and nature,

bothering to change."

God...

and those memories, and make him whole. But some wounds ran too deep, and no matter how deep I dived, I could never mend them. They would always

his face. Pressing my forehead against his, I felt his free hand settle at the

things are

control-sometimes it's fate that